New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-10-09

singular that when Count Tolstci leaves fiction,
where he is at home. and enters these theoioeicai
and social speculations, no exhlDits na'e'e'"
simplicity even an ignorance, which asslmiia'e Ills
mind to those of the peasants whose state 10
wishes to substitute for the comforts and conven-
icnces of civilization. Nor dOes it occur TO bim
that howey er far Christendom may yet DE from d
faithful application of Christianity, every step "
has made toward better things has been gained oy
the aid of those very conditions when mahe
society what it is, and which are in effect the
products of the worlds most strenuous endeavorS
after n higher life What happens to people who
never pass beyond the stage of universal manual
labor NAV be seen in the history of all the races
whose develOpmant has been arrested. No such
race has ever evolved q pure and pracucal re
ligion. No snch race has ever solved the proolem
of social Inequalities which troubles Ioistol SO
greatly If he would examine the question OF lndi-
vidu,I ennolity he would obtain new light IN the
snbiect that perpexes HIM, and at the same time
see the futility of the remedies lie proposes
Nothing less philosophical, rational practical OF
POSSIBLE than his suggestions, indeed IS 10 DC
found in literature. The candor with which he
bares his bosom for all the world to see What 1t
contains Is admirable but alas for the character OF
the perilous stuff that weighs upon him so. His
impulses are uuselfsh, his purposes high, but his
Judgment is fatally defective and his knowledge
equally so. His sincerity has been attested by MS
reuuncation of all social comforts ami pleasures
aud the adoption of a day aborers life. In this
| attemnt TO revert to his ideal OF primitive CHRIS
tianity he has encountered only disappointment
lie mas not been able to raise tho low nor to humpie
tho exalted. The peasants for whom he sacrihces
himself have shown no appreciation of his efforts,
while his friends and tho world at large na'e
shaken their heads and regretted his eccentricity.
| his ma
from the field IN which he was most maniestly
| useful He has been LOST to literature and he has
| made no mark in any other department OF activity
1t is true that his instructive sense oil the pcnr
esque has led him TO mngle with his speculative
vacar.es so many studiesof life, sketches OF char-
acter and alphabetically described scenes, as TO
give certain literary interest TO this part OF MS
writings But the change has none the less beeh Ill
the line of lioratou and il has lessoned alike
| his power and his usefulness Even III hnsSa'
where advance is so much slower than in other
European countries, not to speak OF the Ohi'ed
States il is impossible to imagine tho masses
| belped in any way by such books as What to Do'
| Confusing and depressing together the conclusion
most likely TO be reached by uncducaed readers OF
such works is that the only hope OF reform lies III
complete destruction Of the EXISTING systems and
| that is Nihilism.
! Effective reform of any kind never be secured
by endeavoring suddenly and forcibly to reverse
| the Whole system Habits whether OF mIhd OF
body. are of slow growth and their Origins are
| seldom comprised in single generation. All pro
| gress is by degrees and on certain dchnite INES
those namely of least resistance. The student OF
| human nature who favors revolutionary methods
! of reform must have worked to little purpose
| The sanest thinkers advocate the most cautious
| movements because they know that nature never
proceeds by leaps and least of all human nature
| Count Tolstoi Will not recognize this however,
For him all the experience OF the race Is deiu'ion
and foly and it 1oes not appear to have occurred
10 him at any time that if the world is no better
than is the fact indicates the appropriateness OF
the race to attain h. cher conditions This narrow
ness of outlook vitates all his conclusions indeed
and jntensfes the regret which must be felt ~
! his admirers at the present waste OF his genius IN
hopeless and mistaken experiments In hctIon nc
was an acknowledged and gro wing power There
all the best qualities Of his mind were employed
and displayed to advantage. There his nooie
passion for humanity exhibited with conta-
cious effect The simplicity, fidelity artistic beanty
| of bis competition attracted TO nm constantly
expanding audience The novelty of his style and
the freshness of many OF his ideas were recognHed
and approved. He had conquered a position which
| enabled him TO disembarrass himself of many con
| ventional hlu,lrances lie couiG speak freely, and
| teach in what has ever been the most attractive
way by figures. All these opportunities all these
gains, he has given up Tor the prosecution OF an
experiment which is entirely in the air as wonld
he proposition to repeope with hcrmits tho caves
of the Nitryan Desert Ii is a sorry perYerslon Of
genius and all who love his earlier writings wi'l
assrredly ioin in the hope that recent untraced
| rumor may prove we'll founded and that he may
before long realize the futy Of his social theories
and return to that literature which he once
adorned and which feels his loss